Weeked with Cousins!

For a weekend in January, Caden and Leah came to stay with us while their parents were working. We had a JAM PACKED weekend of fun! The kids did so great playing together and we found that if we kept everyone busy everyone really got along well!

As soon as Caden and Leah got to our house, after Cade face-planted getting out of the van :( the girls were all busy dancing in the kitchen. They were making up their own little routine and taking turns at being the leader. It was TOO cute not to snap a few pictures!This looks like the PERFECT cheerleader pose to me :)Caden and Addyson were the first to jump in and get CLEAN!After everyone was all clean, we were ready for bed! Look at these three little BEAUTIES all snuggled up together :)Addyson needed a little coaxing into her bed. She and Rob were busy playing baseball and she was going to go down swinging ;)She was finally ready, after hitting a few out of the park Rob was pooped.....and the weekend was just getting started!Even Toby and I were ready to hunker down for the eveningThe next morning we woke up to a couple inches of fresh snow. The boys were quick to grab their shovels and head out to scoop the driveI always look forward to Saturdays for the mere fact that Karys knows it is the day of the week she can choose WHATEVER she wants to to wear! It almost ALWAYS consists of some type of short sleeve, leggings, and skirt combo. Today's combo did not disappoint!Soon everyone wanted to head outside to play in the snow!!! We found enough snow gear, although we were grateful the Hummel's had an extra pair of snow pants for Leah.Addy joined in on the shoveling effort! They were really making progress now!Toby and I stayed inside where it was nice and cozy and ate our breakfast :)Soon, all of the troops were headed down the sidewalk and off to Bomgaar's with Rob to get a few things...They did realize they were better off taking the wagon for the little ones to ride inBack inside--we had fun, but now ready to warm up!!!
Time for some puzzle fun!Addy and Cade making angels on the kitchen floor!Saturday night we went swimming at the indoor pool in Sioux Center! We had to borrow a car from a friend to get everyone there, but it was well worth the fun! Toby's first time swimming that he can actually splash and have fun!Addy was excited to splash around with Toby--he returned his excitement by splashing her in the face a few times!The girls had a great time going down the slide, chasing each other around and practicing going under (KJ was the only one to go under :)Caden had a GREAT time!!! minus the fact that he has no bum to hold his trunks up! Even the lifeguard pulled them up for him a few times :)Addyson's friend Bailey was there to swim with us too! They had a fun time exploring together!Toby was LOVING it! All SMILES and SPLASHES!We had a GREAT time! Got showered up and jammies on before we left and there wasn't an open eye when we pulled into the driveway--SUCCESS!

What if I was blind...

This is going to be kind of quirky, but it is just me and just the way my head thinks sometimes so just humor me here :)

Tonight as I was tucking Toby into bed (for the 3rd time--teething bites!), it was completely dark in the room. I was doing my best to tuck him into bed and get him all swaddled up so he would stay asleep. Here is kind of how my thoughts began to travel...

"I should have no problem doing this, I wrap him up the same way every night. I could do this if I was blind. What if I was blind? I would be so grateful for the fact that I would have gotten to see his smile and his perfect little face. Wow...how many times do I miss those visual pictures that I see throughout my days? Just those moments to capture a smile, a look, a moment...wow, how often do I walk around like I am blind and not notice and take note of what is going on around me and the blessings right in front of me? Wow, I need to open my eyes more often..."

After those thoughts, I began to make a mental list of things that I would want to remember if I was blind.

--Toby's big eyes and open mouth smile
--Gracie's eye brow raise when she knows she is right or trying to be sly
--Karys' joy when you thank her for a gift or affirm her
--Addy's expressions...every one of them ;)
--Rob's face when he dances with the kiddos in the kitchen...the whole dance party scene in general actually!
--Toby's laugh and the scene when Addy has him pinned down on the floor tickling him
--Addy's face when she sees me in the morning and comes running to hug me as soon as she gets out of bed.
--Karys' face when she talks about her friends, tells me a story, or explains something to me...she is so into the story, all of the details, and touches on every emotion.
--Gracie's poise as she leads a group of kiddos in play...a natural born, nurturing leader

The list could go on and on...I want to keep adding to it! How do you capture and store your memories in your mind? Take time to store up the images! It is amazing how in doing so you are able to recognize the blessings and relive the moments all over again :)

January Joys!

We rang in the new year with our own family Christmas celebration! Because we travel so much over the holidays every year we have found that we are home on New Years day and it has been a GREAT time to do Christmas with just our family. We usually stay in our jammies, watch the Rose Bowl parade, eat yummy breakfasts and take naps ;) This year we had a GREAT time just enjoying the sunshine through the window, opening gifts from each other, and enjoying laughter together! It was really just a JOY for me to look back at this picture and see the 4 best gifts I could receive this year all sitting under my tree! I love the socks off these kiddos!!!We also got the chance to celebrate my birthday as we started the new year. I really didn't mind turning 30--I actually kind of invited it. While I didn't have those feelings about turning 31, I am ALWAYS excited on my birthday! Especially to walk into the kitchen and see Rob and the girls beaming about their EXCELLENT wrap job!
I thought my present was the Hawkeye football...oh, they just added it as an accent to the wonderous wrap job!
A KITCHENAID!!!! YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!! Great Job, guys! I love it :)Toby was even excited about my gift wrap accessories!After gifts, what better way to continue the celebration than a DANCE PARYTY!!!Gracie in her leotard...such a skinny-minnie, cutie-patootie!Karys getting all limbered up in her cheetah spandex!Even Toby was getting him dance face on!The party quickly moved to the living room for some spinning and dancing!Love these precious girls! They have so much fun together and MOST of the time are so caring and nurturing towards one another!Toby and I were in for a TREAT, by getting to witness their moves and excitement On the 15th, we got the TREAT of having Randy and Carol Halma stop by for lunch! They were our dear friends, our 2nd parents, during the time we lived in California. We got to head out to Pizza Ranch with them and indulge in the noon buffet and then came back to the house so the kiddos could run around while we chatted a little more. It was such a "high" of our month! We just love them so much and it was so good not just to see them but to get the chance to catch up with them a little bit and have them see the kiddos. Come back ANYTIME, Halma's!Addyson and Toby are often home just the two of them. I love the way that they connect with each other. I know this picture seems cheesy in the sense that they are watching a movie; however, I just love the way Toby follows Addy around and she invites him to do so. He chases her, tackles her, and she LETS him! She loves to greet him in the morning and cannot resist talking to him as she walks by him! I pray for such a special relationship here and I love that I can see glimpses of it this early on!Look at my little man!!! I loved seeing him all dressed up for church one Sunday! What a HANDSOME little guy!Oh! Momma loves you little man :)Both of my boys!Rob and I came back from a trip to find this! Not only his cute little naked bum ;) But my strong little boy pulling himself up on Addy's bed. All ready for bed :) and ALL SMILES!Am I in trouble?Addy--she is really getting good at coloring :) So AMAZING just how much she has grown and changed in the past few months...she is HILARIOUS!Starting to eat some solid foods...started to use this "food net" and liked it for a few days, but would much rather pick up the food and feed himself!This picture is almost embarrassing...the girls literally tore their room apart (with Toby's help) playing dress up an house. But they were having SOOO much fun doing it and playing so well together...thus, I didn't complain too much.His new thing is to pull himself up on the girls shelf and chew on all of their books...not good :(Who me? What did I do?Walking the runway (the hallway) and strutting their stuff :)Addyson carried her dress up and dance party into the next day :) Didn't care that sisters were gone to school and it was just her. This little girl OWNED the hallway and spun for over an hour!And does she ever have moves :) She is also quite the performer...not that that isn't just a little obvious here :)Karys had to make a hat for "100s Day" at school. She really wanted it decorated with beads b/c that is what Gracie had last year. But I just couldn't do the same flower design on the top again with beads...Nope, we had to change it up! So we strung beads on yarn and hung them off the hat. She was SOOO Thrilled and got LOTS of compliments on it :)